Tub time...

The tub is one of the happiest places for my little kids.  There are several cars in the tub that hang out on a permanent basis.  Oh, I'm in love with his eyes.  They rim in a blue/green but the centers are yellow, which makes them seem more green.  I find it unusual but very handsome.

He likes to try and stick items in the faucet.

He's been cutting eye teeth for a while but they're finally in and he's back to his happy self!

SAR-Snow and rescue...

Merril's buddies from Search and Rescue asked if he and the fam wanted to go play in the snow up on Kolob for fun.  Merril called home and we got ready as fast as we could but we were still behind the SAR guys.  We were in a truck that Merril was going to fix and then sell and decided that we didn't want to go all the way to the top of Kolob for fear of getting stuck.

So we pulled off and started to play in the snow part way up.

There was plenty of it!

It had snowed a lot the previous couple of days and we were digging it.

We could hear the SAR guys on the radio and knew they were around and just kept playing where we were.  After an hour or so, we were thinking of heading back and saw the SAR guys coming down the road.  The lead guy stopped and said they had happened upon a lady who was stuck in her car.  She had slid off the road, had no cell service and had slept in her car that night, running the engine when she got cold.  She was hoping and praying that someone would happen along but that road is so bad in the winter, the odds of anyone driving it are slim.  These Search and Rescue guys in their huge Jeeps felt a prompting to drive up for a fun Saturday activity and found this poor lady!!  It was supposed to snow a ton more that whole weekend and her odds of survival, with little gear, would have been nil.  When they spotted the car and headed toward her, she jumped out of her car, waving her arms and crying, so thankful she'd been found!  I'm so thankful to know that our Lord is mindful of us and prompted them to head up there.  The SAR guys were prepared with food, water, and tow straps.  They pulled her out and she road down in a Jeep while a SAR guy drove her vehicle down.   

It makes me proud to know that Merril is part of this group of real-life heroes.

New Paint for the Tahoe...

The Tahoe had navy blue paint.  Cracking, peelilng paint.  Merril found a guy who does great paint and body work for a great price!  We had the Tahoe painted black!  The guy even took the doors off and painted the door jams and it looks great!

We got all new head and tail lights too and I feel like the Tahoe looks almost brand new!  Yay! 

Jamie's 35th birthday!

Just after Mikayla's birthday is my birthday!  I turned 35 this year and Merril rented a Dodge Challenger and we Grandma Campbell watched the kids for a night so we could spend a night in Las Vegas!  Wahoo!  Mini VACATION!

It was lots of fun to drive!

There's a new observation wheel in Las Vegas, just like the one we rode in London about 8 years ago.  It's called The High Roller, and it's what we went to Vegas to do.  ( I didn't want to lug a camera so we just used our phones to take pictures.  I kind of wish we had brought a camera.)

 View from the top.

We wanted to go to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory but the power was out in the back of the Forum Shops so that option was out.  We ate dinner at a Mexican Food place instead.

We had dessert crepes at The Paris and watched the volcano show at our hotel, The Mirage.  After we got home, I had some German chocolate cake waiting for me.  

I'm going to have to work pretty hard to top that for Merril's birthday!

Valentines 2015

Valentine's Day started bright and early.  I made pink, heart-shaped pancakes and put a chocolate covered strawberry on their plates.

Towards the afternoon, an Edible Arrangement for me!  I've always thought they looked delicious and Merril ordered one up for me this year!

Between myself and the children, it had disappeared in under 5 minutes.  It was delicious!  Merril is my bestie.  I'm so lucky to spend my days and hours with the person I love most in the world.

Mikayla's 3rd birthday...

I blinked and now I have a 3-year old!  We had a heart-shaped cake and she wanted to put the candles in herself. 

I keep wondering if those lovely, blonde curls will go away or relax.  However long she keeps them, we'll play them up.

And then my girls pulled together for this picture.  It's my latest favorite!

Horrible dream...

The other night, Mikayla woke me up at 1:00 a.m. to tell me she'd thrown up.  So after changing sheets and washing silky blankie, we went to sleep in the spare bed.  I was asleep quickly but had the most horrible dream.  I dreamed that the kids and I were outside.  I was across the street, talking with my neighbor, Dana.  We heard a plane, and turned to see a small aircraft flying rather low behind my house.  Something fell off the plane and once the object hit the ground, lava poured into the street.  I yelled at the kids to get out of the way, "Move! Move!"  Little Mark was in the middle of the road and the lava surrounded him.  He started crying and tried to keep his feet out of the lava but it surrounded him.  I tried to get to him and screamed, "Merril!" because he was closer to Mark.  He was able to reach in and pull him out of the lava.  My heart was tight.  We ran up my Dana's driveway and there was a kiddie pool with water.  Mark had lava on his feet, hands, and it had splashed on his face.  We put him in the water and I was just sick, thinking about his little feet and how they probably wouldn't be able to save them.  I was screaming and sobbing and then I woke up.
I'm so sorry I couldn't save you!  I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to protect you!

I lay there, blinking in the dark with my heart pounding.  I was so sad thinking about how I couldn't help Mark when his little feet were burning up.  I was so far away and couldn't get there for him.  I dislike dreams like this.  It probably took me 45 minutes to calm down enough to fall asleep again.

Thankfully, it was only a dream and my little guy is smiling at me today!

NO MORE BRACES!

Wow!  It's been a year and a half and Jack finally got his braces off!  His teeth are looking great.

I can hardly believe his one front tooth lined up behind his bottom.

And now he has to wear a retainer at night.  I had completely forgotten about retainers!  Hopefully he doesn't lose it!!

Do you like silly faces?

Mikayla has a million goofy faces.  Here are just a few.  Oh, and I couldn't resist a few silly faces too.  We have a lot of free time on our hands.  

Oh, and I swear I brush her hair some days but she really doesn't like it.  So some days I don't.  It's easy that way.

Sounds like trouble...

What a little mess maker.  That boy is into everything!  If it's not the tupperware, it's the pot lids.  If it's not the lids, it's cereal.  Today, it was a new box of sandwich baggies.  

I'm sure he's learning something.  Right?  At least he's cute.  ;)

Phone takes a dive...

Mark threw my phone in the tub!  Mikayla was in the tub, figured that wasn't good, and pulled it out like a good girl.  I was out of the room at the time.  When I came back and saw the phone sitting on the edge of the tub, still dripping, I hurriedly pulled off the case, powered it down, and threw it in rice. After 24 hours, I tried to turn it on.  It was acting a little strange.  It would work while plugged in but when I disconnected it from the charger, it would immediately go dead.  I figured there was water trapped inside, found a YouTube video explaining how to take it apart, and proceeded to do just that.  Woah, it was way more layers than I thought.

Things were looking grim.  After pulling it all apart, water was discovered in the battery compartment.  I dried it all out and put it back together.  It totally worked!  I've been using it for a few days and nothing appears to be wrong with it!  I can't believe it!  Now I don't need a new phone!  Yeah!

Hot Air Balloon Festival...

Ever since our hot air balloon ride in December, I've wanted to show the kids about hot air balloons.  Mesquite holds a an annual hot air balloon festival every January.  When I saw the signs, I knew we needed to go.  I asked the kids and Jack wanted to go do something with Dad so I just took the girls.

We raced down to Mesquite by 7:30 a.m. only to learn that they were setting off any balloons that morning because the winds were unpredictable.  Bummer.  Several balloon owners inflated the balloons to show them off.   The girls couldn't believe how huge they were!

It was chilly but clear and a beautiful morning.

Julie said, "It probably would've been way more fun if we got to actually see the balloons take off."

After we looked at balloons, we went to breakfast.  It was packed!  But we had fun with crayons and once the Mickey Mouse pancakes arrived, everyone was happy.

Mikayla Mermaid...

We have a whirlpool tub in the master bathroom.  Mikayla HAS to have a bath every.single.day.  Over the winter, she's become pretty darn brave and swims with her face in the water.  She floats on her stomach and flips around in the water, holds her breath well, and seems very confident.

In this pic, she'd come up with all her hair in her face and flipped it back, resulting in this odd, halo frame.  I think she's going to become a great little swimmer this summer.  Maxine was always a little fish, Mikayla will be just the same.

Toga party...

Maxine is studying ancient Greece and she got extra points in her Language Arts/History class if she dressed up for school in a toga.  She also said that she just wanted to.  

That kid is brave.  I'm sure I dressed up in things but I think I might've chickened out on the whole toga idea.  We were able to rustle up a pretty good toga outfit from things we had around the house.  Good deal.

Loving my baby Marco...

Mark's ability to walk is improving!  He's going everywhere and it won't be long before he leaves me behind!

I stuffed Mark in the stroller with Mikayla and told her to hold on tight to him so we could get across the street.  Does this count as a double stroller?

It's funny how your life can change unexpectedly.  Even though I feel like a loony every time I tell a new acquaintance I have 5 kids, I wouldn't trade a single one of them.  I am especially loving my time with Mark.  He is the biggest snuggler, loves hugs (he holds me tight around the neck), and warms my heart every time he smiles that happy face.

Marco, don't ever grow up.

Playing in the snow at Jacob Lake...

It's been the most pleasant winter I can remember.  However the kids wanted some real snow so we went to Jacob Lake.  We bought some sleds at Ace and headed out.

We have a bunch of pictures but hardly any are in focus.  :/  Rather, it's just focusing on the wrong part of the frame.  Mark was kind of cold and sad so I wasn't paying attention to the camera as much.  But the kids played in the snow and had a good time.

 And we ate cookies.

I can't believe this shot of Mikayla.  She'd walked off and sat down in the snow.  Then she turned and looked at me, her face was perfectly matched with a sliver of sunlight coming through the trees.  I snapped it, even though I should have been fixing her boot, which had come off.

I love that bunny hat.  I wish she'd never grow out of it.

Family Motto Poster...

I like New Year's resolutions.  Start fresh, make goals, improve one's self.  So I read an article that listed habits of a happy family.  Things like eat dinner together and have family council.  Creating a family motto was one of the habits.  For family home evening, we sat together and listed attributes that we consider important for our family.  Then collage framed it with several of our favorite family pictures.  We are going to focus on one attribute per week for the next 8 weeks.